Some fans and media members wanted the New England Patriots to take a wide receiver in the first round of 2023 NFL Draft. Instead, they waited six rounds and nearly 200 picks to do so.
But though the Patriots passed on this year’s more highly touted pass-catchers, the two they did land both offer intriguing skill sets and high-end upside.
Earlier this week, we took a closer look at Kayshon Boutte, diving into the wideout’s LSU film to see what the 187th overall pick brings to the table. Now, we’re doing the same for Demario Douglas, the Patriots’ selection at No. 210 overall.
Listed at 5-foot-8, 170 pounds, Douglas is drastically undersized, which surely contributed to lack of pre-draft hype. But the highly productive Liberty product boasts a blend of speed, explosiveness, versatility and playmaking ability that’s reminiscent of another recent Patriots draft pick, Marcus Jones.
That’s no coincidence: Douglas said he modeled his game after Jones in college. No, he doesn’t also play on defense. But it wouldn’t be surprising to see New England use him similarly to how it utilized its latter-day Deion Sanders on offense last season.
Here were our takeaways from Douglas’ 2022 tape:
CARRYING THE LOAD
Douglas caught 79 passes for 933 yards and six touchdowns in his final collegiate season. None of his Liberty teammates had more than 25 receptions, illustrating how important he was to his team’s passing attack.
As an FBS independent, the quality of competition on Liberty’s schedule wasn’t especially high, but Douglas’ two best games came against an SEC opponent (Arkansas) and an ACC team that spent most of the season ranked in the top 25 (Wake Forest). He had seven catches for 145 yards and a touchdown in the former and seven catches for 124 yards and two scores in the latter.
After the season, Douglas measured in at 5-8, 179 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine. His 4.44-second 40-yard dash there was the second-fastest of any current Patriots wideout behind Tyquan Thornton’s blazing 4.28. His 39 1/2-inch vertical jump was at least three inches higher than the rest of his position group and seven inches higher than JuJu Smith-Schuster. His 134-inch broad jump topped Thornton’s by four inches and every other New England receiver by at least nine.
SEPARATION
Douglas, who played for the Patriots’ coaching staff at the 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl, is adept at using route stems, rapid decelerations and quick cuts to separate from opposing defensive backs. He can do so while running a range of different routes, too.
Though he did bring down a couple of impressive contested receptions last season, a player of his stature can’t succeed without consistently winning before the catch.
Douglas also has a knack for finding soft spots in zone coverage. We spotted several instances of him adjusting his route to inch away from a dropping linebacker or make himself available in a scramble drill.
GOOD YAC
Douglas only averaged 12.6 yards per catch last season, so he wasn’t turning every reception into a massive gain. But he’s slippery with the ball in his hands and frequently made at least the first defender miss. According to Sports Info Solution, Douglas’ 0.32 forced missed tackles per reception ranked seventh among wide receivers in this draft class.
This make-you-miss capability also made Douglas a productive punt returner for Liberty, with two 70-plus-yard return touchdowns on his record. He also returned kickoffs last season. It seems unlikely New England would move Jones out of the top punt return role after he made first-team All-Pro there last season, but Douglas gives them another option in the return game.
RUSHING ABILITY
Liberty only had Douglas carry the ball five times last season, but his hit rate on those plays was exceptional. In a November loss to UConn, he galloped for 30 yards on a reverse and later took a backfield handoff 75 yards for a touchdown, showcasing his 4.44 speed.
Douglas’ college coaches also would motion him into the backfield and use him as an option on swing passes and screens. The Patriots deployed Jones — a comparably sized cornerback with the rare ability to play in all three phases — as a similar offensive chess piece last season. Both players can threaten defenses from multiple alignments. Former play-caller Matt Patricia rarely utilized receivers in the run game — the 11 carries by non-running backs/quarterbacks were franchise’s fewest since 2015 — but the team should see an uptick in offensive creativity now that Bill O’Brien is running things.
As a sixth-round pick, Douglas won’t be a lock to make the 53-man roster this summer, and his standing could depend on what the Patriots have planned for Jones. If Bill Belichick and O’Brien want to give Jones a larger role on offense and deemphasize his defensive responsibilities, then having a player like Douglas on the 53 could be superfluous. But if they still view Jones as a cornerback first — as Jones himself does — some of his gadget-play cameos could be passed down to Douglas, assuming the rookie proves he can handle the NFL game in training camp.
Reporters will get their first look at Douglas, Boutte and the rest of the 2023 Patriots when the team holds its first open OTA practice next Thursday.
